Chapter 105: How to spend the box office dividends after they arrive?
"The video tape manufacturer is an industry invested by Colombia, and we have a good relationship with them. It is not a big problem to rush to produce the three movies we purchased.
But if we want to rush to market before the strike ends, we will need to spend a lot more money. It would cost us extra money to make way for other video tapes on the production line. And workers will also have to pay three times their wages for overtime...
This is completely unnecessary."
The person who protested to Ronald was the manager of the Daydream video business department, Dolly Bernstine. This was her partner at Weston Pictures with Michelle Cannold. She spoke directly,
Unlike Cannold, who cares about details and has a bit of an artistic temperament, Bernstine has a completely Jewish family upbringing and lets profits speak for himself in everything.
"I appreciate your dedication to your career." Ronald was very happy when he saw Dolly getting excited, which meant that the fat female manager was loyal to her duties. He personally went to the automatic coffee machine and gave Dolly a cup of kabob.
Chino.
"It's not that I don't know the problems caused by rushing to work, but now let's not dwell on the pros and cons of laughing. We must look at this issue from the perspective of company strategy. You will not always be the manager of the video tape business.
You see, if the strike ends, new movies and TV series will be released soon, and our window is not long..."
Ronald first affirmed Dolly's professionalism and hinted that she could be promoted to other higher business positions in the future as the company develops. Coupled with the comfort of making coffee himself, Dolly Bernstine drank the coffee cup with both hands.
After a few sips, my mood gradually calmed down.
"I understand that our pipe dream business is growing rapidly, and the video tape business needs to cooperate. But I have to say again, if this continues, we will always encounter problems, and Colombia will not always have a good relationship with us. It is time to have our own
It’s a video tape manufacturing plant.”
"Very good, the box office share of 'Dirty Dancing' will be paid soon. This is a lot of money. Can you represent the company and go to New Jersey and Arizona to investigate which places are suitable for building or acquiring video tape factories?"
.Then write a report to me, and after we discuss it, you will be responsible for the project."
"That's good, I'm going to make an inspection plan." Dolly Bernstine saw that the factory she had suggested several times finally made some moves, and immediately stood up to leave.
"Dolly, good job!" Ronald quickly stood up and praised this colleague. For such capable subordinates, it is necessary to appease their emotions, listen to their ideas, and then give them appropriate projects to take charge of.
"Ronald? Hi, Dolly", just as Michelle Cannold came in to find Ronald. He and Dolly nodded. Cannold was originally in the video production business, and he still likes to communicate with artists.
I interacted with them and helped Ronald manage some distribution channel matters.
This time he is here also for the premiere of "Die Hard" co-produced with Silver Productions in July.
Several celebrities contacted by Ronald said they would attend if their schedules did not conflict. Even Schwarzenegger, who had just returned from filming "Red Square" in Moscow and Riga, Latvia, also said he would definitely come back to support.
The presence of so many male action movie stars has invisibly elevated the level of Bruce Willis's first action movie. As long as the newspaper news of the day is published, all audiences will see the actions of Schwarzenegger, Stallone and other veteran actors.
Celebrities, all went to see an action movie by former TV comedy star Bruce Willis.
People's thinking is actually easily influenced by the media. Since they appear together, Bruce Willis and they will be classified into the same category.
"Very good, Michelle, I don't know what I would do without you." Ronald looked at the premiere plan. It was very professional from beginning to end. He was able to recruit a group of managers with strong professional abilities.
In daydreaming, they are lucky. Give them more bonuses and more respect, and they will continue to create more wealth for themselves.
"Dolly did a good job. I think she can take over more work in the distribution department in the future. I still prefer to follow the production process from the beginning and watch the movie being made from scratch."
Cannold hinted that Ronald could find the grown-up Dolly to take on more work, "And your assistant Lake, she is very capable and can take over some of Dolly's original work. I didn't expect her talent behind the scenes, and
She’s just as good in front of the camera.”
"You don't have to worry about her. She is here to lose weight. Once she meets Hollywood standards, her dream will still be in the front office." Ronald waved his hand. He also wanted to keep this fat girl, but everyone has their own ambitions.
.
"In addition, is our Dirty Dancing box office share coming soon? Is it possible to acquire a cinema in New York and a cinema in Los Angeles like I told you last time? Many of our movies need theaters for premieres, and we always have to borrow and coordinate them.
Schedules are always not easy. We are still a small company.
If we have our own sites in these two cities, many theater chain buyers will have more confidence in our distribution capabilities."
Cannold mentioned another thing, that is, Daydream needs its own movie theater. Ronald has decided to make more low-cost romance movies and kung fu movies in the future. With his own movie theater, it will be easy to
The conditions for domestic release can be met. This way, it will be easier to get better conditions when facing video tape dealers.
After all, being released in American movie theaters is not an achievement that any movie can achieve. With a release history, video sales channels will be more willing to release such films, regardless of whether the box office is good or not.
"Make a plan and find some acquisition targets. As long as the price is right... By the way, how much does it cost to buy a movie theater in New York now?"
"I made a rough estimate. There are five suitable single-screen theaters here, with prices ranging from two million to five million. Multiplex theaters will be more expensive, and the new cinemas in shopping malls each cost between one and one.
Fifteen million to twenty million."
Cannold came prepared and took out a plan and handed it to Ronald.
"Well, why are they all movie theaters in Manhattan? Are they so cheap?" Ronald flipped through the plan for a long time and discovered a confusing fact.
The single-screen theaters listed by Michelle Cannodero are all in Manhattan. Most of them are located on 42nd Street, which is not far from the theater center Broadway. The intersection of the two streets is in Manhattan.
Near Times Square in Midtown.
Ordinarily, a single-screen cinema in this location would not be worth one or two million dollars.
Seeing the confused look Ronald cast, Michelle Cannold was already prepared. He took out another folder and handed it to Ronald.
Ronald opened it and took a look. It was full of real photos taken near 42nd Street. The decoration of these movie theaters was very old-fashioned and fancy. The lights of various colors at the entrance were turned on and off according to certain rules.
The ancient aesthetics of the 1960s and 1970s come to mind.
"Isn't this a grindhouse cinema?" Ronald understood. These cinemas were all built in the 1930s when movies were most profitable. After the impact of television, these cinemas are very close to each other, with a single room costing 500 to more.
Single theaters with 1,000 seats quickly lost their audience market.
But the operators didn't want to close down. Since the 1960s, they have found a unique screening model, which is to screen many X-rated movies, even some low-level movies that do not participate in the MPAA rating, or imported movies.
The business model of this kind of cinema relies on volume. Therefore, the interior decoration has not been renovated since the 1950s. It also retains the movie-watching habits of the golden age. As long as you buy a ticket, you can go in and watch as many movies as you like.
Any scene is fine, as long as you don't want to see it.
This ticket-buying model was born out of ancient theaters. Surrounding regular Broadway plays, there are many such mill-style theaters, which screen plays all day long, with low-cost, fast-paced, and continuous performances.
while attracting a lower-middle-income audience.
This model was born out of a series of performance venues in Paris that attracted middle and lower-class people. It was named after the cancan, a thigh-exposed dance. The most famous one at the time happened to be called Moulin Rouge.
Such a run-of-the-mill cinema, with many low-rated movies released, quickly became a gathering place for various gray businesses. It couldn't make much money and had to deal with all kinds of messy things. The original operators of the cinema were all old people.
Their children do not want to continue this business, so the sale price is not high.
"If we buy this kind of theater, will we also take over those messy things?" Ronald asked.
"No, I have carefully selected them. These are all theaters near the Broadway end, which are much better than the ones at the Times Square end. Therefore, the prices are also more expensive, generally exceeding one million US dollars.
In terms of operation, we can retain the original management team. Although they are not professional enough, they still need this job. We are adding some popcorn and Coke vending machines, so capital preservation will not be a problem.
Our low-cost movies can be released in these theaters without much problem."
"We need to find an independent third-party company to evaluate. We can't get involved with those gray businesses. It doesn't matter whether we make money or not. We just need a few cinemas of our own to facilitate the release." Ronald warned a few words, making it seem like he was
I also know how to operate a movie theater.
"Don't worry, I've done detailed research. Several of them were once operated by Cannon Cinemas, and their 'Runaway Train' had its New York premiere at one of them."
"Oh? That's no problem." Ronald heard that Minahan had also hosted the film directed by Russian director Konchalovsky, Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, and Rebecca
· De Mornay has several Oscar-nominated movie stars starring in the premiere of the movie, so you can rest assured. No matter how you look for a movie that has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, the movie theater that holds the premiere will definitely not lose face.
.
"Then let's do it. I'll ask Eddie to prepare a check for you. Our box office share has arrived. For acquisitions under five million, you two can decide." Ronald is now wealthy and has a box office share of close to 30 million. He wants to
Find a place to spend it as soon as possible.
Otherwise, after the dust settles in the general election, if the Donkey Party wins, there seems to be no hope of extending the tax cut bill, and then it will be just fun to spend money suddenly.
By the way, it is rare in America for a candidate from the same party to take over after two terms as president. Ronald had to make some preparations.
…
"Ronald, there's a call from Mr. Thomas W. Stephenson Jr. from New Jersey who wants to talk to you. Can you call him back? He's the son of Thomas W. Stephenson Sr., a Hollywood theater chain manager.
boss."
A few days later, agent Richard called and found Ronald, who was on vacation in Palm Springs again.
"Stephenson, Hollywood, ah... I remember it. I attended the Western Film Expo with him, pick it up for me." Ronald remembered this young man, his first time in Las Vegas.
I met the rich second generation when I attended the Western Film Expo called the Film Festival, which is actually an annual trade fair in Hollywood.
This man is quite interesting. He likes artistic films, but as a buyer, he prefers low-cost movies that make money. His father also deliberately cultivated him and asked him to start as the most important film buyer in the theater. At the film festival that year, he had
Many people know him.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Hey, Thomas, why did you remember to call me? We had a very good chat in Las Vegas last time."
"Hello, Ronald. It's nice to hear your voice again. Your recent movie has been showing in our cinema for a long time. I like it so much. Thomas Stephenson Jr. can still remember himself when he hears Ronald,
He was also very happy. Then he said that he had something to discuss and could he come over for an interview.
"Hello, Thomas, are you still a buyer?" Ronald soon met Stephenson who came from Los Angeles.
"Hi, Ronald, yes, I am still a buyer now, but instead of buying movies, I buy movie theaters." The two chatted for a while, and he immediately explained the purpose of his visit straight to the point.
It turns out that the New Jersey Hollywood Cinemas, owned by the four families of Thomas Stephen Jr., has developed very well in recent years. In addition to New Jersey, there are many franchised theaters. They have expanded their territories in New York and New England in the east, and franchised
The number of theaters has reached close to 100, making it the top theater chain on the East Coast.
This time he also took a fancy to several mill theaters on Forty-second Street, because after the repeal of the Paramount Act, the competition for theater mergers and acquisitions became fiercer, and the Stephenson family decided not to continue to attract independent theaters to join.
Instead, his family purchased several cinemas and exceeded the number of one hundred.
Like Ronald's daydream, Thomas Jr., who was in charge of the acquisition, also took a fancy to several movie theaters on Forty-second Street that once belonged to the Cannon Cinemas chain. It turned out that after his offer was rejected by the movie theater owner, he discovered
I was also daydreaming about bidding, so I called Ronald’s agent to negotiate.
"Can you give me these cinemas? I have to achieve good results in the company before I can hope to take over greater authority." Thomas Jr. has high hopes from his father and is training him to be his future successor, but other people in the company
The shareholders were not very convinced and needed him to deliver results to convince everyone. Therefore, the important acquisition work of breaking through 100 theaters was handed over to his son.
"Sorry, Thomas, my company needs these movie theaters. As you know, my company now has many low-cost movies. If they can be released in movie theaters, it will bring me a lot of benefits. I don't need to explain this to you.
Right?" Ronald rejected the other party's proposal. We are not so familiar with each other, right?
"I understand, I understand, do you think this will work? If you can withdraw from the bidding, then I can sign a cooperation agreement with your Daydream. In the future, I will guarantee a certain number of low-cost movies produced by your company.
You will never suffer a loss.
In fact, operating a movie theater is a specialized business. Let professional people like me do it. This way, you can focus on production, but more movie theaters can show it, and it is a win-win situation for us."
Thomas Stephenson Jr. talked a lot about the difficulties of operating a movie theater, and also pointed out that the Mill Theater environment is complex and requires a professional team to operate it.
Ronald still shook his head. For such an agreement, how could he control the insurance from several movie theaters? What he wanted when buying a movie theater was insurance. His own movies could go to the movie theaters if he wanted. Besides, there was still so much money that he had not spent.
When I go out, I always have to buy something.
"Okay, if we can't make a deal, we're still friends, right? I will continue to support your movies in the future." Little Thomas didn't let go when he saw Ronald, knowing that the other party would only be willing to control several movie theaters in his hands.
"How about this, how about we work together in another way?" Ronald suddenly had an inspiration.
"I am willing to listen to any reasonable suggestions." Thomas sat down again.
"I will buy these theaters and then join your Hollywood theater chain. You will send people to my place to operate them according to the conditions of your franchise. In this way, you can save money to buy other theaters, and the number of franchise movies will increase.
It can be more than the original. It is more beneficial to your goals and is also a more suitable win-win method."
Ronald's proposal is to control the cinema himself and then join the other party's cinema alliance. In this way, Thomas' goal of showing his ability in front of shareholders can be exceeded. Anyway, cinemas do not have cinema movies to fill them at all times.
Low-cost movies can always find time to be released.
"I will run it all? I want to send my people to be managers. They are my people..." Thomas felt that this proposal was a good one and hinted that he would stand on his side in future theater conferences. He would also send himself
His direct descendants came to run Ronald's movie theater.
"make a deal!"
Ronald stretched out his hand and shook it vigorously, "Come on, let's relax for a while. The massage here is good and very relaxing."
…
"The total cost of purchasing three movie theaters was less than five million. The budget for acquiring the video tape production line and then moving it to Staten Island was less than $800,000. What are you going to do with the rest of the money?" Private accountant Lawrence Wang Ye
Flying to Palm Springs.
Ronald also scratched his head. This kind of symbolic purchase of a few movie theaters, and then a small production line, can meet most needs. Cannon's purchase of large quantities of movie theaters overseas has proven to be very risky.
Japan Dream has no need to go public, and the production volume is not large, so there is no need to be so radical.
Ask Ronald how he handles his income. The speed of spending money is far slower than making money.
"Should we still invest in the securities market? Coca-Cola and Microsoft are split in half? Now Microsoft's stock price has dropped quite sharply. Their new version of the operating system Windows 2.0 has received poor reviews and has many bugs."
Ronald took the stock trend chart and looked at it. There was indeed something wrong. After Apple Computer eliminated the founder from the company, the subsequent launch of new Macintosh computer models received a good response. Microsoft had no choice but to launch its own graphical operation.
system.
However, their operating systems always have some compatibility issues and often crash.
"Let's buy Coca-Cola. I'd better buy this stock, it's insurance." Ronald's "Dirty Dancing" filming funds were mostly earned from Coca-Cola stocks, so he has feelings.